Capturing the world through photography, video and multimedia

A police photographer documents the scene after a man driving a stolen LAPD cruiser smashed into a Starbucks on La Brea Avenue, officials said. The 25-year-old man was in critical condition after losing at least one leg.

Dolphins Diego, Doerte and Darwin observe animal keeper Melani Hochstenbach as she cleans their aquarium. The three dolphins were born within two weeks of each other at the local zoo, and are now celebrating their first birthday.

A firefighter battles a raging wildfire. Spanish officials say about 4,000 people have been evacuated from their homes as the fire has spread rapidly through hills around the popular southern tourist city of Marbella.

Indonesian Chinese people throw Chinese joss money in honor of their ancestors during the Hungry Ghost Festival. According to Chinese tradition, the seventh month in the lunar calendar is called the Ghost Month, during which ghosts and spirits are believed to visit Earth.

Residents evacuate an area of rising waters from Hurricane Isaac rains in Slidell, La., in St. Tammany Parish. Although the weather system, now downgraded to a tropical storm, had moved north, heavy rains flooded Bayou Pattasat, which backed up into the town north of New Orleans.

In this photo provided by China's Xinhua News Agency, the Three Gorges Hotel, left, and the passenger terminal of Chongqing Port are toppled in explosions. The 32-story landmark passenger terminal and the hotel, which face the city's Chaotianmen Square, were demolished by directional blasting.

Indian air force personnel spray foam on the remains of an MI-17 helicopter, at Sarmat, near Jamnagar, Gujarat, India, that crashed after colliding in midair with another MI-17. At least six Indian air force personnel were killed, officials said. The Russian-made MI-17 helicopters were on a training sortie at a firing range when the accident occurred.

A handout photograph released by NASA shows an image from Tuesday. During the 22nd Martian day, or sol, after landing on Mars, NASA's Curiosity rover drove about 52 feet eastward, the longest drive of the mission so far. The drive imprinted the wheel tracks visible in this image. The rover's rear Hazard Avoidance Camera (Hazcam) took the image after the drive. Curiosity's front and rear Hazcams have fisheye lenses for enabling the rover to see a wide swath of terrain. This image has been processed to straighten the horizon.

A reveler wipes tomato pulp from his face during the annual "tomatina" tomato fight fiesta in Bunol. An estimated 40,000 people, some from as far away as Japan and Australia, took up arms with 100 tons of tomatoes.

A visitor looks at a picture by photographer Reza Deghati as he visits a photo exhibition of images by 33 international photojournalists held as part the events to mark the 75th anniversary of the Spanish Civil War bombings of Basque cities.

A day laborer moves a sack of rice at the Uttar Pradesh state warehouse in Mishrikh. Indians living in rural areas on average eat 2,020 calories a day against a global average of 2,800, 11% less than they did in 1973, according to government and United Nations data.

A convict consoles his son while being taken to prison after a court verdict in a 2002 religious violence case. The court in western India found 32 people guilty Wednesday of charges ranging from murder to rioting for their part in deadly religious violence following a train fire on Feb. 27, 2002, that killed 60 Hindu pilgrims. Muslims were blamed for the fire, leading to weeks of rioting in which Hindu mobs rampaged through towns and villages burning Muslim homes and businesses.

Pakistani firefighters extinguish a burning vehicle after it was set on fire by angry protesters over killings in their district. Over 20 people have been killed in alleged targeted killings in the last 48 hours. Ethnic, sectarian and politically linked violence has killed at least 740 people so far this year in the city of Karachi.

Kenyan police officers kick down a wall made of steel sheets as they search for for protesters and any possible weaponry used during recent riots that have left three Kenyan police officers dead and over a dozen injured after a grenade attack on a police vehicle.

Police dog Dr. Max jumps out of a stroller to pursue a pretended pickpocket during a presentation of the K-9 unit of the police. The Dresden police organized an action day themed "Police and their animal helpers"

A "mozo" (or runner) is bumped in the back by a bull as it and others arrive at the bullring during the running of the bulls as part of the San Sebastian de los Reyes festival near Madrid. Five people were injured during the first of six bull runs held during the festival that honor the town's patron saint and continues through Sunday.

Partially reflected in a glass shelf, journalists cover a news conference by members of Syrian opposition groups presenting scenarios of what could happen in Syria after the fall of President Bashar Assad.

Investigators at the scene of a fatal officer-involved shooting in Bellflower after a driver led police on a chase from Fullerton to Bellflower early Tuesday morning. Authorities said officers opened fire on the suspect when he tried to run them over.

A riot police officer holds his machine gun at the ready as a tire set afire by Muslim youths burns outside Masjid Musa mosque. Police and protesters have fought running battles as a violent backlash over the killing of a radical Muslim cleric continued in Kenya's second largest city, leaving several people hospitalized, officials said. Police officers used tear gas against youths protesting the killing Monday of Aboud Rogo Mohammed, who was allegedly involved with the Al Qaeda-linked Somali militant group al-Shabab.

Israeli soldiers step between an Israeli, left, arguing with a Palestinian after Jewish settlers from the Israeli settlement of Livona attacked the Palestinian's house. The attack reportedly left four people injured and destroyed the occupants' car.

A Palestinian woman looks at a destroyed Hamas training camp after an Israeli airstrike early Tuesday. It was one of three such camps that came under attack in the Gaza Strip. There were no injuries reported.

Afghan militants use motorcycles for armed patrols after vowing to defend their village against Taliban insurgents. Taliban fighters are being pushed out of some areas in eastern Afghanistan by local militias.

A Chinese fisherman wearing an orange life vest, fourth from left, is rescued by South Korean coast guard officers from a Chinese ship in Jeju, South Korea after a powerful typhoon pounded South Korea with strong winds and heavy rain Tuesday.

Street entertainers perform on the Royal Mile on the final day of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland is one of the largest arts festivals in the world and was established as an alternative to the International Festival also held in August, and celebrates its 66th anniversary this year.

Young Musicians Foundation mentor Jay Rubottom plays the double bass for sixth grade students at Lennox Middle School. The Lennox Enrichment After-School Program provides music education and enrichment opportunities to underserved students who would not otherwise have access to music education.

A member of the Kuwaiti diving team searches for pearls during the 24th Pearl Diving Trip in Kuwait. At least 160 divers aboard nine ships dive for pearl oysters. Pearls (dana) used to be a major contribution to Kuwait's and the wider Arabian Gulf's wealth before oil was discovered in the region.

A man stares at a storage tank still on fire in the Venezuelan Amuay oil refinery. Venezuela was in mourning after a massive explosion killed at least 39 people, injured more than 80 others and left about 200 houses and 13 shops damaged due to the shock wave.

Protesters relax on a sofa in the Occupy movement campsite area outside the HSBC bank headquarters in Hong Kong. A Hong Kong court on Aug. 13 approved the eviction of protesters outside the headquarters, giving them until today to leave the courtyard of the bank's downtown office tower, after which HSBC would be entitled to reclaim the site, in a major blow to the last outpost of the Occupy movement in Asia.

Pakistani police officers inspect a bullet-riddled car. Reports state that at least three people were killed and two others were wounded when unknown assailants opened fire on a taxi. A recent wave of target killings in Quetta has sparked fear among the residents.

Indian residents play ball on a flooded street during heavy rains in Mumbai. The monsoon rains across the country have been more than 20% below average, sparking fears of drought among farmers who remember vividly the failure of 2009, when India suffered its worst drought in nearly four decades.

An Afghan boy rests as his friends rehearse before the 7th Afghanistan Juggling Championships. The juggling championship, organized by the Mobile Mini Circus for Children, brought together the best jugglers from different Afghan provinces for the competition.

A shopkeeper looks out from inside a closed shop during a 12-hour general strike called by radical Hindu group Bajrang Dal in Gauhati. The strike was to protest the recent ethnic violence in the state, which killed at least 80 people and displaced 400,000.

Striking mine workers sing protest songs and march in a wide circle under the watchful eye of police at the Lonmin Platinum Mine near Rustenburg. Thirty-four strikers were shot dead by police in a three-minute barrage of automatic gunfire last week that also injured 78 others. The incident traumatized a nation that thought it had seen the last of state violence with the end of apartheid in 1994. Ten other people were killed the week before, including two police officers hacked to death with machetes by strikers who also burned alive two mine security guards.

A resident walks along Bayshore Boulevard in between squalls blowing across the bay in Tampa. The Republican National Convention has delayed its start because of the approaching Tropical Storm Isaac, which is churning its way across the Gulf of Mexico.

Tropical Storm Isaac took aim at Louisiana and other U.S. Gulf states Monday, prompting them to declare states of emergency almost seven years after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans.The storm was lashing the Florida coast and with winds reaching 65 mph, could reach hurricane force within 24 hours, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center warned.

In Tampa, Fla., Mitt Romney officially gained a historic presidential nomination Tuesday night as Republicans tried to steer national attention toward their storm-shortened convention and a tight fall race against President Obama. The former Massachusetts governor became the first Mormon to be nominated for president by a major party. See 2012 Republican convention

Venezuela was in mourning after a massive explosion at an oil refinery killed at least 39 people, injured more than 80 others and left more than 200 homes and shops damaged by the shock wave. In Hong Kong, protesters relax on a sofa in an Occupy movement campsite area outside the HSBC bank headquarters. Pakistani police officers inspect a bullet-riddled car in Quetta, where at least three people were killed and two were wounded when unknown assailants opened fire on a taxi. In Bolivia, police commandos block a road in front of a residence where two tons of minerals suspected of containing uranium were found in La Paz.

On the protest front, Kenyan Muslims shout slogans in front of a mosque in Mombasa reacting to the killing of Muslim cleric Aboud Rogo Mohammed; workers for Alcoa Aluminum climb the gate of the Economic Development Ministry in Rome while protesting the company’s move to shut down a smelter and put hundreds of jobs at risk; and a Palestinian woman attacks Israeli soldiers during clashes that broke out during a weekly protest against the Jewish settlement of Qadomem in the West Bank.

In Spain, officials say some 4,000 people have been evacuated from their houses as a wildfire abetted by strong winds spread rapidly through hills around the tourist city of Marbella; a reveler wipes tomato pulp from his face during the annual “tomatina” tomato fight and fiesta in the village of Bunol; a “mozo” dodges a bull during the second bull run at the festival of San Sebastian de los Reyes near Madrid; and a photo exhibition featuring 33 international photojournalists is held to mark the 75th anniversary of the Spanish Civil War bombings of Basque cities.

Getting festive, street entertainers perform during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland. One of the largest arts festivals in the world, it was established as an alternative to the International Festival, also held in August, and celebrates its 66th anniversary this year. In London, performers take part in the Notting Hill Carnival, and in France, the punk rock band Social Distortion entertains at the Rock-en-Seine music festival near Paris.

Elsewhere, German police showed off their latest effort to combat pickpockets – an undercover police dog riding in a stroller in Dresden; police in China try to remove a car surrounded by water after its owner parked it to watch waves brought on by Typhoon Bolaven; and Chinese swimmers warm up in the Aquatic Center during a training session ahead of the 2012 Paralympics in London.